Monongahela Rockhounds

Field Trips

Two to three times a year the club arranges field trips. These are events where the club gets permission to visit a quarry or other collecting site, and the members get an opportunity to collect specimens. Past field trips include:

Flint Ridge, Ohio

As the name implies, you can find flint at Flint Ridge as well as small pockets of quartz. There is also a museum on the historical uses and geology of the area. The flint can be used in lapidary work.

Meckley Quarry

This is a quarry in eastern Pennsylvania. The types of minerals found here include calcite, flourite, celestine, and strontianite. Most of the rock here is softer than Walworth, but it can still be hard. Again, many fine pieces can be obtained without using power tools or sledgehammers.

Indiana Geodes

A club member has a friend in Indiana who owns a stream filled with geodes that have eroded out of the streambed. Fossil crinoid stems, crinoid heads, and assorted other fossils can be found. Sledgehammers and heavy duty tools will NOT help, as the geodes have eroded out of any hard rock.

Walworth Quarry

Walworth Quarry is a quarry in New York. Here you may find sphalerite, dolomite, and fluorite. The dolostone matrix is very hard; however, many fine pieces can be obtained without using power tools or sledgehammers.